


A bit Longer

by AngelLuckovich



Category: TsukiPro the Animation
Genre: M/M, based on Adonis song, based on Origin AU, several worlds, tags might be added in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-02-10 08:17:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18656554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelLuckovich/pseuds/AngelLuckovich
Summary: Love is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world, but it is also the one that can hurt us the most. Doomed, that is how they feel, ignoring their real feelings for each other and just wanting to stay together as much as they can.





	1. The Origin

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so yeah, I said I would need like a month to recover my braincells from Dai’s bday fics, but nope, here I am again. Back in October, when I heard Adonis and then when I read the lyrics (translated ofc) I was hit by the feels thinking about a DaiRikka fic based on the song and on the Origin AU. Nevertheless, it is important to clarify, I’m just gonna used the main concept from Origin, Angels and Devils/ Light and Dark, but I’m not gonna follow the entire scheme they created, first because I know I haven’t read all of it, second, I also like to have my own freedom. Another important point, just as “The Merman and the King” this has 0 outlining XD… so I know how I want this to be, like I know the beginning and the end, but there are lots of things I want to write over here and I need to find out a way to do it, or leaving out stuff that would not be that relevant.   
> As usual with me, the fic will be centered on SolidS members, there’s gonna be mainly DaiRikka, but it will go with ShikiTsuba, other characters or ships might join the story or get to be briefly mentioned.   
> Mmmmm I feel a bit dumb because I’m writing this way before posting the fic, so I don’t forget stuff, but I already feel like I’m forgetting stuff x.x; anyways, hope you like it, comments are appreciated!

**Chapter 1: The Origin**

Just a normal morning, the pink haired devil sighs, he understands that this is the way in which they are supposed to live and spend every day. Moreover, he is also aware that they do have freedom to do whatever they want in this world, but that freedom can also become tedious or have its own risks.

Therefore, being boring of the same daily routine, Rikka decides to go for a change and visit one of his friends. Devils and angels are allowed to see each other; of course, there are some rules to respect and follow. The main rule that Rikka has to obey is the one of not falling in love with an angel. Nevertheless, there is no need to worry with the friend he has in the angel’s territory. The reason why, this angel has only one true love, music. Rikka could easily see that Shiki’s ‘obsession’ with the music is full of passion and obviously love.

Said passion has grown bigger since he found that Tsubasa is such an excellent singer. Seeing as those two have become closer through the music, has been a totally unexpected event for Rikka. Nonetheless, he could not have been happier, Tsubasa was reaching the same point than him, being boring every day and feeling as their existence in the Sephirot was just pointless.

As he thinks about it, Rikka walks by the enormous tree, how does it decide who will come to this world? If he leaves this place, what would he be able to find in other worlds? Would he prefer to live in a different world?

Truth is that since he is a demon he is not allowed to explore other worlds. Apparently, a devil’s power could cause more chaos than anything else in any world; so, they are doomed to spend all their lives here.

“Beyond the Sephirot…”

Rikka whispers and as the words are said, a strong and colorful light emanates from the tree. The devil gives a step back, a new being? A devil? An angel?

It is the first time that Rikka is able to see such event, and for an instant, he feels his heart beating with excitement. Slowly, the bright colors start to decrease, and some of the branches are getting tangled between each other. Curious about it, Rikka gets closer to the blue bud that those branches have formed; the devil wants to touch it, he wants to see who is inside of it.

As his hands start to reach out for it, a blue pale light starts to illuminate the bud. Then, tiny petals start coming out from it; finally, the bud suddenly opens and reveals a small baby angel who is peacefully sleeping inside of it. Rikka’s eyes go wide opened, the small baby in front of him looks so pure, so innocent. The devil sighs, he is too astonished to know what to do and before he even notices, he dares to carry the baby. Quickly, he moves one of his hands to his face and verifies what he thought it is happening.

He is crying.

Swiftly, he cleans the tears and in a sudden impulse he hugs the baby. The pink haired devil knows that this is one of those rules they need to follow, a devil cannot take care of a baby angel; a devil cannot carry a baby angel for too long. Nonetheless, his heart feels so linked to the little one that he cannot stop his actions.

Then, the baby slowly opens his eyes and so a pair of two beautiful light blue orbs, as clear as the water, are looking at Rikka. The devil smiles at the baby who responds the action in the same way. The moment is truly perfect, and it has given a new light to Rikka’s existence, but it could not last any longer.

“Rikka…”

The devil is called by his friend, Shiki’s voice is clearly serious and even harsh; of course, Rikka has disobeyed the rules. Immediately, Shiki gets closer to the devil and takes the baby away from Rikka’s arms.

“I… I’m sorry, I was walking to go and see you when the Sephirot…” Rikka tries to explain as he keeps his eyes on the baby.

“I understand,” the purple haired man replies and tries to calm down, he truly spoke to Rikka in a rude way, “I saw the light and since we thought no one was around we came to see if the new member was an angel or a devil.”

The angel explains and caresses the baby’s hair.

“Too bad I was mistaken, it would have been nice to welcome a new devil,” the blond devil mentions as he sees from a safe distance the new angel.

“Why? We cannot reach other worlds, he will come here to be bored.”

Both, angel and devil look at their friend, they have known about Rikka’s discontent for a while, but for a moment they thought that their friend has overcome it. Trying to avoid the uncomfortable situation, Tsubasa looks at the baby again.

“Well, this little one is truly adorable!”

Shiki smiles, it is true, the baby is adorable, and he is happy to be the first angel to be here. It means that he will be able to take care of him and so he will be also able to allow Rikka and Tsubasa to visit him as much as they want.

“For now, I need to take him to Shun so the angels can meet him, and he can be named,” the oldest one says, and he is about to start his way back, but Rikka grabs him by the shoulder.

“Shiki…”

“Don’t worry, once ‘the period’ is over you can come and visit him,” the angel replies.

Rikka gently smiles, that is exactly what he wanted to listen to, and so he allows the angel to keep going on his way. The pink haired devil sighs, ‘the period’ is the time in which a new born -angel or devil- has their growth spurt and can start to interact with the opposite specie. In addition, most of the times this period could take one week or sometimes even a month.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

It has been two weeks since Rikka was able to see the birth of the new angel and so far, Shiki has not come to visit him to give him any kind of update. Thus, resulting in the devil making his own way to go to the angel’s territory again.

“Rikka… where are you going?” Tsubasa asks him as he has seen the pink haired trying to slip away.

“Ah… well…”

The blond keeps smirking as he sees how Rikka tries to come up with a good excuse or a good way to cover his real intention. Nevertheless, when he cannot find anything good to say, he goes and reveals his real intentions.

“Hahaha, that’s good, I was waiting for you to do it,” the blond says and starts walking on the same direction than Rikka.

“Eh?”

“I didn’t want to be the only one getting scolded by Shiki, let’s go.”

Rikka happily smiles, at least, as Tsubasa mentioned, they are not going to be alone in case of being scolded. They walk and enjoy of a normal conversation, about the last days, about what they have been doing. Since Shiki decided to be responsible of the baby, then Tsubasa has spent the last days going around the devil’s territory. The blond has been enjoying his free time with Shu and Eichi, both of them have started to go to the angel’s land too and so they have been able to talk more with some angels and have started to learn about the other worlds.

“I thought they would never move from out domain,” Rikka adds with a surprise look.

“Well, I guess they also wanted a change, I mean our place is great and all, but…” Tsubasa stops for a moment, he knows that Rikka has always wanted to go to other worlds, so he is not sure if he should continue.

“But?” the pink haired questions expecting an answer.

The blond devil sighs and scratches his head.

“You know… it’s interesting to come here and listen to them talking about the other worlds they can visit,” the younger devil concludes and looks at Rikka.

The pink haired nods, his eyes reflecting some pain, why do devils cannot leave this place? Why are they doomed to spend all their existence in just one place?

“Rikka?”

“I’m fine, sorry,” the devil replies and gives a tiny smile, “but, that makes me think, Shiki does not really go to other worlds, so…”

Tsubasa starts to panic, it is true, the angel has never talked to him about any different place. In fact, they have only talked about music, they have only sung together and enjoyed their time with the sound of the piano and their voices. The blond knows that he has started to feel more than just happiness by visiting Shiki, by being right next to him.

“It’s true, he does not talk about other worlds,” the blond replies, “but I like the music he creates.”

“Just the music?” Rikka asks and looks at Tsubasa by the corner of his eye.

The blond sighs, it seems like he cannot hide what is really going on.

“You know we cannot love, we cannot have real feelings; well, I mean at the end it does not matter what I feel … you know.”

“I know, and I apologize.”

The blond waives it off, they do know that being a devil has a lot of disadvantages. Nevertheless, they try to keep moving forward, they try to keep going on with their lives.

“At least… it’s not so bad for a devil who represents the envy,” the blond suddenly comments, “even if I feel…you know what… it’s not possible for me to lose my wings.”

“You have a good advantage there, and it’s not like you feel envy of any angel, I’d be in troubles if I were a devil of envy.”

The pink haired tries to joke with it, but his words carry a lot of pain and sadness that are easily seen by Tsubasa. Every day he envies the angels’ freedom, every day he envies their lives. However, just like the devils, the angels are not allowed to feel what they represent, and it is something that makes Rikka feels confused. What’s the point of being something that they cannot show at the end?

“We better get rid off our long faces, we are getting there,” Tsubasa suddenly tells him and Rikka looks up.

They have already crossed the Sephirot and he didn’t even realize of it. This is the first time that his heart is beating with so much excitement by getting to the angel’s territory; all because he is too eager to see the baby again. Well, Rikka assumes that he is still a baby since Shiki has not gone with them during all these two weeks.

“Please, tell me it’s just happiness,” the blond expresses when he sees Rikka’s expressions.

“It’s just happiness! Tsubasa, please, he is a baby, how come?” the pink haired replies, a bit of anger clearly showing on his voice.

“Love can come in many different ways, he is a baby now, you can feel some kind of… motherly love? That’s the name, right?” the younger devil replies, “but we both know that he will grow up, I’m already scared of the moment in which he grows.”

“It’s just happiness, that’s it!”

Rikka has just said those words when they have crossed the entrance and right away they get to run into Shiki and a child, the purple haired angel is holding the angel child’s hand and stares at his friends. Tsubasa and Rikka look surprised at the older angel and of course at the child that is with him. Is it possible that this child can be that baby angel?

Trying to stop the uncomfortable moment, Tsubasa is the one that moves closer first, widely smiling and greeting the two angels. The child immediately hides behind Shiki and shyly looks at the newcomers.

“It is alright,” Shiki tells the kid, “they are our friends, remember? I told you we were going out today to visit two special persons.”

“Are they?” the angel whispers still daring ton only look at Shiki.

“Yes, they are, you can say hi to them.” the older specifies and the little boy nods.

“Is… is he…” Rikka stammers with his words, he keeps looking at Shiki and then to the child.

“Yes, his name is Dai.”

“Dai-chan! What a cute name!” Tsubasa calls him with the honorific which makes the boy frowns.

“Don’t call me Dai-chan, my name is just Dai,” the child instantly replies and pouts.

Shiki laughs at the reaction, without a doubt Dai is developing a strong personality, the older angel pats the child’s head who looks at him with admiration. Then, the moment is interrupted by the pink haired devil, Rikka kneels to look at the baby in the face. The devil looks at Dai straight into his eyes; for a moment the younger angel looks afraid and grabs Shiki’s clothes stronger, but after a while, Dai seems to be remembering about something.

“Shiki!” the angel suddenly says with excitement and asks Shiki to bend so he can whisper something into his ears, “it’s him!” the little angel whispers.

“Rikka?” the purple haired angel questions and Dai nods.

“Eh? Me? What are you talking about?”

Shiki keeps looking at Dai, and then he focuses on Rikka.

“Dai… Dai is an angel of love,” the older explains, “apparently he ended up taking part of your form.”

The pink haired devil looks astonished and even confused, how could a demon influence an angel? Nevertheless, he also knows that in this place every once in a while, something new and unexpected can happen. Nonetheless, the expression on Shiki’s face makes him feel afraid of what kind of consequence this will bring. His thoughts are cut of when he perceives that the kid is getting closer; Dai looks shyly at Rikka, his eyes are practically sparkling with enthusiasm.

“So, your name is Dai,” Rikka says while he pats Dai’s head.

“Yes… Rikka,” the angel replies timidly.

At the tender moment, two worries looks are exchanged, Shiki and Tsubasa are concerned for what is coming.

“Rikka, I believe it will be better…” Shiki stops there, the hurt in Rikka’s eyes has told him that the pink haired has already predicted what he was going to say.

Tsubasa takes a deep breath, and all of a sudden takes Shiki by the forearm and takes him a bit away from Rikka and Dai. The blond is also aware that this relationship might bring problems to the devil and the angel, but he has not seen Rikka this happy in a long time. Therefore, he needs to at least try to convince Shiki.

“Don’t do it now,” Tsubasa expresses without hesitation.

“Do what?”

“Breaking them apart, don’t do it,” the devil practically begs taking Shiki’s hands, “for a long time I’ve felt that Rikka is about to give up, that he is ready to move to the human world… but just now, I feel something has changed for him.”

The purple haired angel knows that every word that Tsubasa has said is true; Shiki has also felt it, he has also seen the instant change that Rikka has had. They look as the pink haired keeps talking to the light blue haired angel, so happily, so full of joy. The older angel sighs, he knows that this decision might be the worst, but he has to give them a chance.

“This could be the worst,” Shiki murmurs, he feels scared.

“Or the best, for being an angel you are a bit negative, you know?”

“And you too positive for being a demon,” the purple haired angel replies, “I’m supposed to do the right thing, Tsubasa.”

“You are doing the right thing to help your friend, right?”

There is another pause, and the angel sighs.

 “We will give them a chance, but…”

“I know, if their presence in this world is ever in danger,” Tsubasa interrupts, and hesitates on saying the last part, “if they are ever in danger we will break them apart.”

From that distance, they keep looking at the scene, Dai seems to be enjoying his conversation with Rikka and the devil seems to be delighted by every word the little one says. Tsubasa then looks at Shiki with a thankful look, he hopes he does not have to regret this petition any time in the future. Meanwhile, the purple haired angel fears that not doing the right thing in the right moment can bring them lots of consequences that they will regret; he would not be able to forgive himself for such mistake.

 


	2. Fairness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are supposed to live in a world in which justice is the same for everyone, but then, why does Dai feel like that-s not the case? Why do they have so many rules? Just why cannot they be trated in the same way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to decipher where to go with this XD but I do know that there's gonna be angsty moments for DaiRikka and ShikiTsuba...

**Fairness**

Today it is the first day in which Dai is going to a different world; Shiki has mentioned a lot of options on where to go and how to find stuff he wants to see. The boy has been more than excited, listening to everything that the older angel has to say, asking a lot of questions; however, when they are walking towards the Sephirot, Dai makes a question which even hurts Shiki.

“Can Rikka come with us too? Also, Tsubasa, I don’t like him calling me Dai-chan, but I like to share time with him as well,” the light blue haired angel asks, and Shiki stops walking.

He probably should have mentioned from the beginning that one of the biggest differences between angels and devils is the fact that angels have freedom to move outside the Sephirot. The purple haired angel sighs, Dai has shown to be pretty mature and so he trusts that the child can understand the situation. Nevertheless, when he is about to give the answer, they see that Rikka and Tsubasa are coming to the Sephirot as well; of course, those two would come to wish good luck to the angel on his first trip.

“Look Shiki! They are here! I’m sure they will go with us!” the little one says excited.

“Dai, please wai…” Shiki cannot finish his phrase, even less tell him the truth.

The angel, who is still learning how to use his wings, flies with some difficulties to the two devils. He smiles excitedly at them, imagining that if their time is great over here, they will sure have an even better time in another world learning about it. When Dai is getting closer to them, Tsubasa teasingly expands his wings and flies towards the boy to catch him, since Tsubasa clearly knew that Dai was trying to reach Rikka first.

“Dai-chan!” the blond says with a teasing tone and tightly hugs the little one.

“Stop calling me like that! I wanted to hug Rikka!” the boy complains and tries to break free from the hug.

The pink haired demon feels as his heart flutters with happiness when he listens to the angel saying that. He goes closer to them and once that Dai has been released from Tsubasa’s hold, Rikka kneels next to the younger one and hugs him. Immediately, the angel blushes, he sure says he wanted to hug the devil, but feeling so much warmth from the devil is something that he has not gotten used to yet.

“Is it ok if I hug you, Dai?” Rikka questions him.

“Yes… yes, it is alright,” he shyly replies, “Shiki, now we can go all together, right?” Dai turns around to look at his mentor with hopeful eyes that they will have a great adventure together.

Tsubasa and Rikka looks up at Shiki who feels as his good mood quickly vanishes. Saying the truth with the demons in front of them, well, it is not going to be easy; it’s actually going to be painful. Especially with Rikka there.

“Dai… listen…”

“Dai, one of the Sephirot’s rules says that the demons are not allowed to visit other worlds,” Rikka interrupts Shiki and reveals the truth, “we have to stay here all the time.”

The angel looks at Rikka with his big eyes almost tearing; then he looks at Shiki, his eyes begging that what he just heard is not true. Nonetheless, when he sees that the angel does not change his expression, Dai understands that is the truth.

“Why?” he asks, his voice breaking a bit.

“It is part of the rules, there are things we cannot explain, that we cannot find some kind of logic,” Shiki states and pats Dai’s head, “if you feel down we can postpone it for tomorrow.”

The older angel proposes and cleans the few tears that have fallen down Dai’s face. The smaller one looks up at Rikka and Tsubasa, he cannot decipher their expressions, but for some reason he does not want to disappoint them. The light blue haired angel feels as a knot forms in his throat and so the words will not come out easily. For a moment, he hesitates, but then he listens to Rikka’s voice again.

“Listen Dai, there is no reason to feel bad about us, it is one of the rules we need to follow,” the demon says and tries to remain calmed as he explains. “but you know, this rule is one of the reasons why demons are such good friends with angels, do you want to know why?”

The little boy holds his sobs and nods, he really needs to see the good part of this.

“Because we come here to listen to all the wonderful stories the angels can tell us about those other worlds, right Tsubasa?”

“Yes, yes! We love to listen to your adventures, so please go and bring as many stories as you can, we will be waiting here for you!” the blond devil says excitedly and coming closer to pats the angel’s head.

Dai looks at the devils, their smiles look genuine; then, he looks back at Shiki, his expression showing understanding and ready to accept any decision he wants to make. The little angel wipes away the tears and takes a deep breath.

“Let’s go!” he says with a small smile on his face.

Shiki nods and asks him to say good bye to Rikka and Tsubasa; they will not be gone for too long. Since this is the first time Dai is moving beyond the Sephirot, he needs first to get used to it and learn how to distribute his energy. The little boy goes and hugs Rikka and Tsubasa, promising them that he will be back with the most incredible stories for the two of them. Then, Shiki takes the smaller angel’s hand and raises his left hand.

“Remember, close your eyes,” the older indicates, and waits to see if Dai is following his instructions, “take a deep breath, I will go to the world you want to choose, ok?”

“Yes,” the boy expresses, and his first desire is to go to a world in which the four of them can be happy together.

The Sephiroth opens a path and a shine light wraps the two angels, once that the brightness is gone, there is only an empty place.

Rikka sighs when he sees that the angels have gone, his heart feels as breaking a little bit now. Truth to be told, he really wishes he could have gone with Dai and share this experience with him, but his destiny is to be tied to this land. Nevertheless, his thoughts are quickly cut off as Tsubasa comes closer to ruffle his hair.

“What has gotten to you?” Rikka asks him between giggles.

“I really admire you, that’s it,” the blond replies and smiles, “so, I guess we are just gonna sit here and wait, right?”

The pink haired demon nods and sits; it might not be a long time of waiting, but it is better to be comfortable. Quickly, Tsubasa copies the action, and he also leans towards Rikka.

“I wish I could go,” the devil whispers.

“I know, but if we go… there’s a chance we could lose our wings,” Tsubasa expresses, “now, you have to think that Dai will be really sad if you ever get to lose your wings.”

Rikka’s heart skips a beat when he thinks about that, he will never forgive himself if he ever gets to be the one causing Dai’s sadness. Therefore, he nods and sighs, weeks ago he was starting to get ready to move to the human world, but now; he needs to stay for someone’s happiness.

Tsubasa looks at Rikka by the corner of his eye, he sees the tiny, but beautiful smile that shows on Rikka’s face. The blond cannot avoid feeling relief, now he knows that allowing Rikka and Dai to share as much time together as possible has been the best decision.

It takes around twenty minutes for them to see as the Sephiroth emanates a bright light and opens again a path, this time there is no emptiness as Shiki and Dai are back. Nonetheless, when they are back, Shiki is strongly holding Dai as it seems that the younger has used more energy than necessary. Immediately, Rikka and Tsubasa stands up and goes next to the younger too.

“Is he alright?” the pink haired asks alarmed.

“He is just tired, he went farther away than what he could in his first trip, he didn’t want to come back until having a good story to tell,” Shiki replies as he carries the boy.

“That sounds just like him,” Tsubasa says with a grin on his face.

The purple haired angel nods, when they were in the world Dai chose, he was desperate to find something. At the beginning, the older could not understand the reason for such behavior, but then he saw as Dai started following someone who looks like Rikka. Without having a previous explanation about it, the younger was capable to know that there were other versions of them living in those other worlds. Even more, he focused his energy on finding one world in which they all could have the same opportunities, and where the four of them could be together all the time without rules to follow.

“I’ll take him home so he can rest and…”

“Can I take him home? I know where you live, I mean I’ve been there and…”

Rikka stops when he sees that Shiki does not seem sure about the proposal. However, the blond interferes in Rikka’s favor.

“I think it’s been a while since you’ve been taking care of Dai-chan every day, I don’t think it’s a bad idea you can take a break,” the devil mentions and careful surrounds Shiki with one of his arms, “plus, it’s been a while since we were able to make music together.”

The final statement is the one that really gets to Shiki. How long has it been since he played the piano? Weeks, a month, more than a month, he cannot even tell; all he has been doing is taking care of Dai and teaching him as much as possible; which he knows has not been done properly since he is leaving too many gaps. The older angel looks at the direction of the angel’s domain; truth to be told Rikka would not have a problem going; he is already a well-known demon in the area and Dai is already old enough to have contact with a devil. Moreover, it is pretty unlikely that Rikka gets to run into one of the highest level angels.   

“Fine, I’ll be there in an hour, alright?” Shiki says and gently he moves Dai from his arms to Rikka’s arms.

“Understood, have fun.”

Rikka sees as Tsubasa practically  drags Shiki to the place where they met, and the place where the two of them enjoy of the music they make. Then, the devil looks at the angel who seems to be peacefully sleeping, and so, walking slowly he starts his way towards the angel’s territory. Normally, Rikka does not feel anxious nor nervous about going to that part of the Sephirot; however, since he knows there have been rumors about how he influenced the kind of angel that Dai turned to be, he cannot avoid those emotions.

Once he crosses the golden gates that welcome anyone to the angel’s territory, Rikka feels as his heart starts beating faster. Quickly, he looks back at Dai, the boy brings peace to his heart and always give him energy to keep going.

“Rikka?”

He hears as someone calls his name and when he looks up he is face to face with Iku, one of the angels that owns a higher level. What are the odds for this kind of encounter in this moment?

“Ah, hello, Iku, how are you doing?” the pink haired devil tries to proceed with a normal conversation.

“Hi, Rikka; yes, everything is fine,” the angel replies and keeps looking at Rikka as expecting him to explain himself.

“Something wrong?”

“Ah no, well… would you tell me… well… where are you going with Dai?”

It is the first time that Rikka feels judge or even threaten by an angel; still, the pink haired keeps his composure and looks back at the angel.

“I’m taking him home, he went with Shiki to another world and got more tired than expected.”

The devil explains, but the questioning look on Iku’s face does not disappear.

“I am very sorry to keep asking you stuff, but, where is Shiki? He should be the one taking care of Dai, that was the agreement made with Shun.”

Rikka is wordless, an agreement? Why? There should not be any kind of agreement or deals when someone decides to take care of a new angel or demon. Unconsciously, Rikka holds Dai stronger in his arms, he is getting scared that Iku might take Dai away from him.

“It’s just for a while, Shiki is with Tsubasa right now, so I told him I could bring Dai home.”

“I see,” Iku replies and even if he looks a bit uncomfortable with the answer, he nods and waves good bye.

Rikka sees as the angel goes away and since the encounter was not the best he could imagine, he prefers to hurry to get to Shiki’s place. Once that he has reached the house, the pink haired devil looks for the small room that the older angel has accommodated for Dai and carefully he places the child on the bed. Rikka cannot avoid the urge to caress the little boy’s face and he also ruffles a bit his hair.

“You really gave me a reason to stay here,” the devil whispers as he smiles.

Then, even if his words were not too loud, Dai starts to wake up, the boy takes his hands to his eyes and rubs them a bit. Shortly after, and once his eyes have gotten used to the light again, he focuses his sight on Rikka and jumps to hug him.

“Rikka!” the angel says with an excited voice, but the devil can perceive as the voice breaks a bit.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Rikka repeats and tries to soothe the angel by rubbing his hands through Dai’s back, “What is it? What has gotten to you?”

The pink haired demon asks getting worried as he hears the angel sobbing. Nevertheless, there is no answer coming from Dai, the boy is unable to control his emotions and get back to talk. Instead, the child keeps hugging Rikka as strongly as he can; and so, the pink haired let him take all the necessary time to let out that nostalgic feel he has in his heart.

“Dai are you alright?” the demon asks him once that the crying is over.

The angel sighs and nods, his emotions are a mess after that first trip, but seeing a world in which they were all together, in which the rules were the same for all of them. A world in which he was capable of protecting and being with Rikka… everything he saw has made him feel confused and frustrated about his own world.

“I promise I will grow up tall and strong and I will protect you!”

Certainly, Rikka does not understand the reason why Dai is acting like this, but his heart feels so much happiness that he could not care less for an explanation. Letting himself being dragged by the emotions of the moment, Rikka kisses Dai’s forehead, tenderly and softly; the boy closes his eyes and smiles with the action that the devil has performed.

“Rikka!”

A stern voice comes from the other side of the room, Shiki has come back and has seen the moment in which Rikka has kissed the angel. The pink haired demon looks afraid at his old friend, he was not capable of stopping himself and so he allowed himself to express love, what he represents.

“Shiki, I’m sorry, I’m just… I…”

“Please, leave, I’ll take care of Dai now.”

“Why does he have to leave? Shiki, please, let him stay!” the boy requests immediately and tries to get up from his bed, but almost falling.

The demon tries to hold Dai; however, Shiki gets in the middle of them and catches Dai before the child falls. The purple eyes look with severity at the pink haired demon demanding him to leave and not make things worst for everyone in that room. The younger angel tries to protest again, but the look that he gets from Shiki makes him remain quiet.

“I’ll go to talk to you later,” the oldest man says as he carries Dai back to his bed.

“I understand… again, I’m really sorry, Shiki” the demon expresses and leaves without even looking at Dai; his heart is already breaking apart and if he gets to see the little angel he will break into tears without a doubt.

The younger angel looks up at Shiki, why does his mentor react like that? Why does Shiki need to keep them away from each other? There are so many questions going around on Dai’s mind at this moment that he does not even know where to start. Nevertheless, Shiki does not give him a chance to ask or say a word; the purple haired angel gets Dai into his bed again and without even saying a word, the order is clear, sleep and rest.

Feeling too broken hearted and confused, the younger gets to the conclusion that the best to do is to rest, he will have time to asks his questions later. Hopefully, he might be able to find the reason why this world that is supposed to be perfect seems to be so unfair.

And if he cannot find a reason why, he will surely fight to find the justice for everyone in this world. Especially for Rikka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. The Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A condition is given by the Angel's Leader and so the devil is not allowed to see the little angel for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been giving serious thinking on deleting this fic... but I guess my stubborn self wants to keep going and see if I can fix my own mess... that's why it took me so long to update... sorry if anyone was waiting for an update on this fic.

Chapter 3: The Reason

It has been a week, he has not heard about Shiki and so far, he has not heard anyone saying that Shiki is looking for him; which he truly appreciates since he still he does not know how to justify himself. Rikka knows how dangerous is to demonstrate or express any sign of love for a demon, especially a demon of love. Thus, he has been fearful of what would happen to him and even to Dai if someone else got to know about the event.

His heart aches at the moment when he thinks about the little angel, it has been a week since he last saw him. The pink haired demon hugs himself tightly, why does he have to ruin his life now? There was a time when he was so lonely and wishing to go to the human world, and now that he has a reason to stay… the demon grunts, he needs to do something before this can be out of control.

“Rikka!!!” Tsubasa’s voice startles him, but he stays in the same place, “Rikka!! Please, open the door, I know you are here! Ryota told me you haven’t left home!”

Of course, his neighbor would be the one to reveal his location. Rikka sighs, he is not in the mood yet to see anyone, not even one of his best friends.

“Open the door, Rikka.”

A second voice, Shiki’s voice. The pink haired demon feels as his heart speeds up, is Dai with them? Or have they come to talk about what happened?

“Rikka, please, we need to talk.”

There has always been something about Shiki’s voice that no one could ignore his instructions -or actually orders- probably it has to do with the fact that he is an angel that represents justice. Therefore, without any further resistance, Rikka stands up and moves to open the door. Each devil, and of course each angel, is allowed to have their own place to live in and thus that place becomes their home that reflects their personality. In Rikka’s case, his home has always been described as cozy and full of sweetness and gentleness.

Nevertheless, during the last week part of that environment has been getting lost. Trying to let go of his insecurity, Rikka sighs and then opens the door, the disappointment hits him hard once he sees that the only ones behind the door are Tsubasa and Shiki, and so he cannot hide his real emotion.

“Well, it’s nice to see you too,” Tsubasa says with some sarcasm in his voice.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t felt very good,” the other devil replies and invites them to get inside the house.

“I can clearly see that,” the angel comments looking at the dead plants around the place, “well, I’m going to speak clearly.”

Rikka feels as his body freezes, is he going to be punished? Or even worst, has Dai been punished because of him? The thought makes him look back at Shiki, his eyes are begging the purple haired angel to continue; which Shiki understands and nods. The angel takes a seat, patiently he closes his eyes, crosses his legs, and then takes a deep breath. Needless to say, each action is killing Rikka’s patient, and also Tsubasa’s. Then, after Shiki has completely set up he looks back at the pink haired devil.

“As an angel who represents justice, it was my duty to tell what happened,” the angel starts explaining, “I went with Shun while Dai was with Yoru and You and the result is that there is a temporary condition.”

“Dai-chan is not allowed to share time with any demon for another week,” Tsubasa interrupts Shiki to be the one revealing the condition.

The angel grunts, why does Tsubasa has to be so precipitated? However, instead of focusing in the rude interjection made by the blond devil, the angel continues.

“Shun has said that Dai needs to be more time with the angels than with the devils,” the angel proceeds, “again, it is temporary, Rikka, I would not be capable of lying to you.”

Rikka nods showing that he has understood. Being honest, the devil was more than sure that they will not be allowed to see each other ever again. In fact, he is surprised by the measures than the angel with the highest rank has taken.

“Thank you, Shiki,” the pink haired says after a while.

“However,” the purple haired man says with a stern voice once that he has seen that Rikka has slightly recovered his smile, “this condition can be permanent if we are not careful.”

By that comment Rikka is confused, ‘we,’ why is Shiki referring to all of them if he was the one making the mistake?

“You’ve been wanting to go to the human world, to sacrifice your wings, right Rikka?”

The devil feels completely exposed; he knows it is hard for him to hide his real emotions and feelings. Nevertheless, he would have never thought that even Tsubasa would have known what his thoughts have been during all this time. The devil sighs, and nods, there is no point in hiding what he has been wishing for; the Sephirot is a beautiful place, but he feels so limited that even the human world sounds better. Even if it has been known to be the place where they go as a punishment for having lost their wings.

So far, there are only one angel and one devil who have lost their wings. They also used to represent love and so were not able to express this emotion between themselves. Moreover, what makes it more painful is the fact that none of the angels have been able to see them in the human world after all this time which is most likely that is since they have not been allowed to reborn.

“You do not need to feel ashamed about it,” Shiki expresses standing up and walking next to Rikka’s side, “and so I hope you understand that I mentioned to Shun that that is the reason why we cannot keep you away from Dai.”

“Shiki!” the pink haired raises his voice and looks with alarmed eyes to the purple haired man.

“Rikka, please, take it easy, I also agreed on this!” Tsubasa immediately interferes, “We don’t want to lose you, and so… and so we knew that having Dai next to you would keep you here… with us… “

The blond says and tightly hugs Rikka, in that moment, the pink haired can feel as his clothes get a little wet because of Tsubasa’s tears. Without a doubt this breaks Rikka’s heart.

“Please, don’t leave us, we will take care of both of you and will help you so we can all be together,” the younger devil expresses, and his voices breaks a bit. 

Rikka understands that he does need to try, not only for himself, he does not want to cause any sadness to Tsubasa nor Shiki. Even less, causing troubles to Dai. The demon nods and hugs Tsubasa back.

“I’m really sorry, I’m sorry for making you sad,” Rikka speaks up as he tightens his hold on Tsubasa, “I will try my best.”

“If you need anything, let us know,” Shiki adds as he goes closer to pat Rikka’s head, “I will come with Dai once that Shun gives him permission to come to the devil’s land.”

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

Another week has passed, but during this week, Rikka has taken the time to fix the mess that his house had become. Without a doubt, the fact of being a slave of his thoughts and mainly his fear was slowly taking every single piece of beauty in his place. The pink haired sighs as he waters some other plants and looks around. Finally, his place looks so much better. Before he can take a seat to admire his job, someone knocks on his door.

“Coming,” the pink haired indicates, but the knocking does not stop.

The pink haired is more than surprised when he opens the door and sees that Shiki, Tsubasa, and Dai are there. Rikka restrains himself from hugging the little boy, but he cannot deny the happiness that he feels in his heart by having the visit of all their friends.

“Dai, how have you been?” the demon gets to express after a while.

“Fine! But also, too bored, and you Rikka? I’ve missed you a lot,” Dai replies and then he looks at the taller angel, “Shiki said that it was necessary for me to stay with Shun, but I didn’t like it.”

The pink haired demon laughs, Dai has come back more talkative and apparently sincere. Even Tsubasa laughs at each of the words that the little boy has said.

“You don’t understand why, but at some point, you will, ok?” Shiki tells him and takes Dai to carry him, “for now, we just come to say hi and maybe tomorrow we can stay a little bit longer,” the purple haired angel specifies.

“So… it’s not over yet?”

Rikka asks showing some disappointment; and the little boy looks at Shiki waiting for an answer since he is not sure about what the pink haired is talking. The older angel sighs and closes his eyes, he does not know if the condition is more painful or if the answer that he has to give is.

“Shun has asked Dai to visit more worlds, so we are going beyond the Sephirot today,” the angel replies.

Tsubasa goes next to Rikka’s side to hug him, trying to show support and reminding him that he has a promise to accomplish. The pink haired devil understands his friend action and nods.

“I see,” the older devil finally replies, “then Dai, please go and enjoy the world you want to visit,” he says as he gently pats Dai’s head.

“When I get back, I’ll come here to tell you everything that I find interesting,” the younger angel says taking Rikka’s hands with his own.

Even if this action is not dangerous, Shiki immediately walks away with Dai, specifying that they need to hurry to get things done. Rikka and Tsubasa wave a last good bye to both angels and they stay there until they cannot longer see the angels.

“I’m happy I could see him,” Rikka admits and allows the blond to go in.

“I knew it, it shows on your face,” Tsubasa replies.

“But… why is he still a kid? Isn’t supposed that angels grow faster than devils?”

Tsubasa stares at Rikka, it is the first time that he thinks about it, but it is true. When he has come to the Sephirot, he remembers that Rikka and Shiki used to have the same appearance in regards of age. Nevertheless, after a while, Shiki grew up and became an adult, while Rikka was still looking as a teenager. The blond keeps thinking about how long that could have been, but his memories of his first months in the Sephirot are not very clear.

“Do they? Even from childhood to teen years?” Tsubasa asks still confused.

“That’s how I remember it, I don’t have many memories of the other angels as children,” Rikka adds, “well, maybe I’m just overthinking,” the pink haired comments and tries to not keep going around the issue.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

Two days later, Rikka and Tsubasa decide to go to the angel’s territory since the condition period is already over, and because Shiki and Dai didn’t go back on the previous day. Thankfully, when they get to the place, there are no weird looks at them nor any angel questions them about their visit. Therefore, without any inconvenience, they quickly reach Shiki’s home.

“I can’t wait to see what kind of place Dai will build for himself,” Tsubasa expresses out of the blue when they are waiting for Shiki to open the door.

“It’ll be a beautiful place, no doubt about it,” the pink haired replies with a smile and then the door is opened.

To their surprised the one opening the door is Dai, who immediately jumps to them to hug them.

“I have so much stories to tell you!” the younger says with a big smile and drags both devils inside the house.

Once they are sitting in the living room, they notice that the older angel is not around and so Dai is the one taking the role of a host. The young little boy leads them to take a seat and to feel as if they were at their own place. When everyone seems to be comfortable, Dai starts talking about the two worlds he has visited. One of the places he visited with Shiki was a world that was divided by elements, people who live there have a special skill and take advantage of said skill to earn a life. Rikka and Tsubasa listen to each word carefully, not wanting to miss a detail, since this is a world from which they have not heard about it.

“I told Shiki I wanted to see the place where those four live and it was huge!” Dai expresses with big eyes showing his excitement, “and the… the guy who was kind of the leader was really smart!”

“And you said they could control fire?!” Tsubasa asks trying to imitate Dai’s eagerness.

“Yes!” the boy replies jumping off his seat and wishing he could tell them that those four people were them, but that’s something that Shiki has forbidden him.

“And what about the other world?” Rikka questions him, he is happy to see that Dai has already learnt how to distribute his energy and does not get weak by moving outside the Sephirot.

Immediately, Dai’s face gets even more enthusiastic, that other world was his favorite on that day.

“It’s funny because it seems I just like going after people who are related to fire,” the boy comments before starting his story.

Nevertheless, he is interrupted when the house’s door is opened. Shiki has come back, his face does not seem to bring good news and his expression becomes more serious when he sees the two devils that are with Dai.

“Shiki, Shiki, I’m telling them about the amazing place we visited the other day!”

When the purple haired angel looks at Dai’s eyes full of happiness and so much keenness on his story telling, he decides that is better to follow the mood and sit down to listen to the boy. Nonetheless, Rikka has completely seen that there is something going on.

“It does sound like an amazing world!” Tsubasa says at the end of the story, “thank you Dai-chan for sharing it with us!”

The boy who has been smiling all the time, stops his smile and looks at the devil with a serious expression.

“Don’t call me Dai-chan,” he says and pouts, “I’m getting taller!”

“Eh! But even if you get stronger and taller, you will keep being my cute little angel brother,” the blond devil expresses and carries Dai.

Suddenly, the younger is unable to control his curiosity and being so closed to Tsubasa he touches one of the horns. The devil gets startled, there has not been an angel who has dared to do this kind of action, not even Shiki.

“Dai-chan?” the devil questions him and as gently as he can he puts Dai down.

The little angel then moves closer to Rikka and gets on the sofa where the devil is sitting to perform the same action. The pink haired lightly gasps in shock and looks at the angel with surprise.

“Dai, what are you doing?” Shiki asks when he has also overcome the shock.

“Why don’t we have horns?” the boy asks looking at Shiki and touching his head.

Everyone in the room looks with disbelief at the child and remained silence for a while.

“It is what makes us different,” Tsubasa replies thinking that is the most obvious answer.

However, Dai does not seem satisfy with that and furrows his brow.

“I believe you do not want to take that for an answer,” Shiki comments and Dai nods, “However, I think we will need to discuss it later, you need to go to sleep.”

“Shiki!” the little angel tries to complain, but his tutor does not accept the tantrum.

Uncapable of hiding his disappointment, Dai goes to say good bye to the two devils and then the boy goes straight to his room.

“So, what happened?” Rikka asks when there’s no sign of the little angel.

“Dai’s growing period is a mess, he should be an adolescent by now, but well, as you see he is still a child,” the older angel replies and sighs, “Shun wants to be with him again for another two weeks or until he reaches teens years.”

The room goes immediately silence, if the angel’s leader is making the request, then they cannot do anything.

“The period with Shun will start tomorrow, if Dai reaches adolescence before the two weeks, he is free to come back with me.”

“Shouldn’t he start his own place by then?” the blond asks.

“He should but Shun wants him to be observed until we can confirm that everything is alright with him.”

The devils understand that there is not a lot that they can do to help in this situation and so they simply nod.

“How do you feel about this, Shiki?” Tsubasa is the one who dares to ask.

“I honestly feel like a failure in raising him, but according to Shun there’s nothing I could do about it since…”

“It was because I carried him, right?”

The looks are on Rikka, and even if it is painful, Shiki nods. That has been the main reason for Dai to have such a different growing process and even more to be so fixated on the idea that demons and angels should be the same. Even if the little boy represents love, his idea of equality makes him look more like a justice angel.

“If this is to help Dai, then we just have to accept it, but please, let us know if there is something we can do,” Rikka expresses, even himself is surprised by his words.

“Yes, please!”

“I will do it, thank you,” Shiki kindly replies to their offer.

After some more talking, but now about other topics that could help them to relax, the devils decide that is time to go back to their own territory. Needless to say, they feel some emptiness knowing that it was the only day they could share so much time with Dai, but at least they were able of listening to his stories, and even better seeing him so excited about his experiences.


	4. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dai is forced to stay two more weeks with Shun with the purpose of getting him to grow up. The change finally happens and it not only shows in physical way, but also in Dai's emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this yesterday night in 2 hours and I just did a quick edit... so if you find any mistakes, that's the reason... I also believe that now I'm a bit more secure on where to go with this XD... also, what kind of trauma do I have that Shun is always the villain in my DaiRikka fics??????? I'm sorry to Shun's fans ....

**Chapter 4: Changes**

 

For some reason, he is being forced again to stay with Shun, it did not matter how much he complained and how much he begged Shiki, he has been sent again to the same place. The little angel looks with disappointment at the huge doors in front of him, once they get to be opened, he will be locked again in that weird room.

The sudden noise of the heavy doors moving makes Dai feel startled and instantly the emptiness in his stomach becomes bigger; he really does not want to be here. Then, he sees the familiar white-haired man that took care of him for two weeks, Shun. Immediately, the light blue haired angel grabs Shiki’s garments, the older angel feels as his heart aches for doing this again. Nevertheless, he does not have a choice, he has to do what is right and what is being dictated by the angel with highest rank.

“Thank you for bringing him, now you can leave,” the angel with the palest skin exclaims.

Shiki nods and looks at Dai, then when he sees the little boy’s teary eyes he kneels, and pats Dai’s head.

“It is only for a while, you’ll be back in no time,” Shiki tells him, knowing that the simple act of staying a bit more is altering the order Shun wants to follow.

“But I don’t want to stay, I told you! I want to play with you, Tsubasa, and Rikka!”

Shiki sees as the most powerful angel looks with some severity at the mention of the devils.

“Dai, don’t make things more complicated,” Shiki’s voice has changed, and Dai can perceive that it does not matter what he says, he does not have a choice, “two weeks that’s it, ok?”

“Ok…” the boy replies and hugs Shiki, “I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, now go.”

Without any further words, Dai goes inside the ancestral castle that is Shun’s home while the purple haired angel simply can see as the doors get closed. Once again, he will have two long weeks alone at home, but he knows it is something he has to get used to for the time when Dai gets to live alone.

“Is he back?” Kouki who was walking around comes across Shiki and asks him.

“Yes, maybe this time he reaches his teens years” the older angel replies.

“It is not your fault Shiki, the boy had contact with a devil when he was born, it was obvious that he would be different,” the blond angel states.

“Yes…”

The purple haired angel cannot hide his disappointment, what would have happened if he would have gotten to Dai first? Maybe the younger would not even be a love angel, maybe he would have taken after him and becoming an angel representing justice. Nonetheless, it does not really matter how many times he thinks about the ‘what ifs;’ Dai is an angel whose first contact was with a demon and that is causing him problems. Probably, today is not a good day to visit Rikka and Tsubasa, he thinks as he walks away from the castle with Kouki.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

Being locked in a room is one of the most boring things Dai has to bear while being under Shun’s care. All he can do is lying around and see the weird circular objects moving around. Why is he forced to be here? As he questions about it, he hears as the door’s room is being opened. It is weird to see Shun coming to this room, the last time it did not happen.

“Hello, Dai.”

“Hi…” he shyly replies, Shun has always made him feel uncomfortable.

The older angel tries to show a gentle smile to the little boy to try to ease the anxiety, but it clearly does not work. Then, the angel sits next to Dai and takes his hands.

“Are you conscious of your own existence, Dai?” the white-haired angel asks him, “you know you are one of my precious angels.”

“I know I am an angel, an angel who represents love.”

Shun smiles at the reply, Dai seems to be a clever being, it is good as the leader will not have to use any drastic method against the little boy, at least not now. The taller angel then moves his free hand making that the circular objects stop moving.

“You know, these are the clocks that control the worlds that we visit,” Shun says and with a snap he makes them move again.

“Clocks? That’s the name for these things?” Dai questions as he looks with curiosity.

“Yes, Hajime, the demons’ leader also has power over them, you know why?”

Dai looks at the clocks and tries to touch one, but before he can reach one of them, Shun pulls his hand away.

“Just think.”

The older angel indicates him, and the boy lowers his look.

“To provide a balance.”

Definitely a smart boy, Shun thinks as he nods.

“We need to give balance to every word, that is why we have angels and devils who represent the same values, the same principles, and that is why we cannot mix angels and devils…”

“But I do not believe that is logic, I…”

“Dai, think about the balance, about the needs of all the worlds while you are here.”

The angel expresses and he leaves him alone one more time.

The balance? What is the good thing about having a balance in which you cannot learn stuff from the other part? Dai wonders as he looks at the clocks. So far, the only two demons that he truly knows are Tsubasa and Rikka and for him it does not matter the fact that they are demons. His friends are kind, generous and they are fun to spend time with. He has learnt from Tsubasa to laugh and enjoy time, he truly is someone similar to a brother. Then, from Rikka he has learnt the true beauty of kindness, he even wants to be as Rikka since they both represent love.

What is so wrong about wanting to be with the demons? Why does it have to be so many differences between the two kinds? Instead of feeling more convinced by Shun’s point of view, he is actually started to dislike it more. There cannot be a perfect world in which so many distinctions are made, it is simple impossible, they should learn to appreciate the difference, to learn from each other.

All of a sudden, Dai feels a sudden pain going through his body, he does not understand what is happening to him. He feels as a sharp pain that goes from his head to his feet, the angel falls down to his knees and tries to keep his breathing steady; something that is turning out to be impossible. Dai looks around, he is completely alone, he wishes he could scream out Shiki’s name, he wishes that Shiki could be there… he actually wishes Rikka and Tsubasa could also be there. The pain is turning out to be more than he can handle, and so he cannot keep fighting it thus he falls unconscious in the middle of the room.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

When he starts to wake up, Dai perceives as someone is caressing his hair. The touch feels gently, and his first impression is that that could only be Rikka. However, he remembers that he has been sent to stay with Shun, the thought immediately makes him sit down and looks at the person that is with him.

“Finally awake,” Shun expresses as he sees Dai’s scared expression, “it seems like our conversation did work a little, you are no longer a child.”

Dai gets confused by the words and so he looks at his body and looks for a surface in which he can see his reflection. He indeed looks different, his hair is a bit longer, his eyes are not as big as they used to be, and he seems to be a bit taller. The younger angel looks at Shun begging for an answer.

“You are developing your own thinking, which mean you are able to grow,” Shun calmly replies, “the time you spent with Shiki and those devils have taken down your own perspective as you just wishes to be like them,” the older angel expresses and stands up.

He moves next to Dai and looks at the reflection of the two of them.

“Being with the devils has taken away your real path, Dai,” Shun expresses, “you need to be in contact with your own people, with the angels.”

“Devils are good!” the boy immediately replies, and his voice cracks a bit.

“I’m not saying they are not, what I am saying is that you need to develop yourself first, you need to focus on the greatness you can have as an angel, all the worlds you can know…”

“Stop! It is not fair that the devils are not allowed to go out of the Sephirot, it is not fair that…”

A simple snap is all what it takes Shun to make Dai remain silence. It is like he has covered Dai’s mouth for the nonsense that the boy was saying.

“Apparently, your idea of angels and devils having to be the same will not change,” Shun expresses as he leans towards Dai and the boy looks at him completely determined.

It might not be possible to change Dai’s mind, but Shun will make him accept the fact that he is an angel, the traits from Rikka that poisoned Dai’s soul in the past will disappear one way or another.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*

The two weeks are finally over, Shiki feels glad to be able to go for Dai and see how things went. Hopefully, he younger angel has been able to reach his adolescence and will be able to move through more worlds with more freedom. The purple haired angel feels excitement going through himself as he imagines the happy face on the little boy.

Nevertheless, the eagerness is completely changed to shock when he sees the angel that is waiting for him outside Shun’s castle. If it would not be for the hair color, Shiki would not be able to recognize Dai. The angel is no longer a child, he is a full grown up angel. The differences are way too many, Dai’s hair is longer than his, the big and beautiful eyes are now smaller and showing more seriousness than before. Then, he cannot avoid noticing how much Dai’s body has changed, he is taller, his shoulders are broader, and he seems to be stronger than any other angel he has seen.

“Dai…” Shiki whispers when he is closer.

The younger angel gives him a small smile; definitely, this time with Shun has changed him more than the previous one. There is no wide and bright smile, the boy is not running to him to hug him; instead, Shiki can perceive some nostalgia coming from the boy, he can see as a huge part of Dai is now gone.

“Hello Shiki… I’ve… I’ve changed,” the purple haired angel can easily see as Dai pushes his tears back.

“You did, come here,” the older tells him and opens his arms to be the one offering a hug to the, now, taller angel.

Without hesitation, Dai moves towards Shiki and accepts the hug. The younger finally feels at home, finally feels free from the suffocating time he had to spend in that awful castle. Letting himself being moved by his impulses he hugs Shiki stronger as if he is trying to let go of some of the tension he lived there.

Suddenly, their moment is over as the castle’s doors move again revealing Shun’s silhouette.

“He has reached adulthood sooner than expected,” Shun tells Shiki, “however, I thought it would be interesting to spend more time with him.”

“You could have called me sooner,” the purple haired angel ignores the last part, he does not really know what exactly happened, but he is sure that he does not like it.

“I know, but I just wanted to make sure that this will not be necessary ever again, your work now is to make sure that this will not happen again.”

As he expresses those last words, Shun turns around and gets back into his castle. The purple haired angel feels anger going through his body, if only they could be allowed to disrespect Shun’s instructions…

Shiki tries to put his feelings under control, now it is not the time to lose himself in an emotional ocean. He needs to focus on Dai, the younger still looks too melancholic and it hurts Shiki’s heart.

“Dai, do you remember that place where you swam? Do you want to go there?” Shiki asks him, he remembers how much Dai enjoyed swimming when he was a child.

“Shun said I need to work on my own place now…” even if Dai wants to make his own way of thinking in this world, he also knows that he cannot risk his existence and thus needs to obey.

Shiki scratches his head, it is true, now that he has become an adult he has to learn how to live alone.

“Listen, it will be only one more day with me, and I will assume any consequence if Shun wants to give a punishment for this.”

“Shiki…”

“Let’s go.”

There is no space for any further discussion, the older angel takes Dai by his hand and drags him out of there. The river where they are going, it is a common place that angels and devils share. Nevertheless, that is also a reason why the place is empty most of the times. Thus, even if Dai was somewhat nervous about going there and running into Rikka and Tsubasa the feeling immediately vanishes when he sees that no one is around.

“Try to enjoy yourself… I know… I know that growing up is painful,” the older angel says.

Every angel barely remembers what it feels to grow up since they usually live the stages faster than a devil. However, a memory that all of them share about the experience is how painful turns out to be. Moreover, thinking that Dai went through his growing process in a different way, Shiki believes that the younger angel’s process was even more painful.

“I will!” Dai replies with a smile that seems to be more genuine.

The younger takes off the long vest he wears and without a second thought he immerses in the water.

*°**°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°°**°°*°*

Walking through the path that connects the two territories, two devils move ahead. One seems to be truly excited about entering the angel’s territory, the other not that much.

“Come on, Shiki said we could go today,” Tsubasa expresses and keeps pulling Rikka.

“Even if he said so, I think we should wait,” the pink haired devil replies as he looks around, he has become afraid of coming to the angel’s side.

Tsubasa waves the words off and keeps his way. Unfortunately, once they reached Shiki’s place, they are welcome by an empty house and no visible signs that they have been there.

“Maybe they are still with Shun,” Rikka mentions as if trying to convince the blond devil to leave.

“Are you looking for Shiki and Dai?” Kensuke asks him, fortunately for them, Kensuke is a really kind angel with devils since he also has a good friend as a devil.

“Yes, they were supposed to be here, but…”

“Nope, I saw them going to the river, well I assume that Shiki was with Dai… but… well you’ll see once you get to them, see you!”

Rikka and Tsubasa look at each other surprised by the words, what does Kensuke means by assuming that Dai was with Shiki? Feeling tempted by the curiosity, both devils hurry to the river to find their two friends.

*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°°**°*°*

Definitely, Shiki had a good idea by bringing him here, Dai thinks as he keeps swimming and enjoying the cold water. This is a great way to relax and to forget about the frustration that he has been keeping for the last two weeks. During that time, he has, somehow, understood that the Sephirot’s rules dictated that angels and devils should be treated in different ways. Nevertheless, he still does not find logic said rule, if they both live in the same world, why would it be fair for one of the species to have privileges over the other? The angel tries to shake off the idea for the moment, the less he wants is to go back with Shun, and so he goes deeper into the river, trying to hide his pain and questions for a brief moment.

In the meantime, Shiki keeps an eye of every movement and action, somehow, he feels that he has to take care of Dai more than ever now; even if the boy is already an adult. Nevertheless, a sudden voice breaks his concentration and it makes him fear for what can happen.

“Shiki! Here you are! We went to your place and…”

“What are you two doing here? How did you find us?” Shiki asks unable to hide his fear.

“Is everything ok…Shiki?” Rikka hesitates in his question, but he would have never expected this reaction from Shiki.

“Right now… I am sorry, but… right now I don’t think that it is a good idea for you two to see Dai, or well it’s not good for Dai to see you.”

Then, it becomes the wrong timing for everything, Dai comes out of the water expanding his wings and going up, the two devils look surprise at the silhouette they see. The child they used to know is no longer there, as of right now all they see is a grown-up angel.

“Dai…” Rikka whispers, he is completely mesmerized by the view.

The big and strong wings framing Dai figure while his long and silky hair moves by the wind’s rhythm, it’s hypnotizing him. Unconsciously, he starts walking towards Dai, that is until another hand grabs him by the wrist.

“It is not the time… he had… he had two rough weeks, don’t do this to him,” Shiki expresses hoping that Rikka can stop his action and leave.

Nonetheless, the younger angel has already perceived the presence of the two devils and carefully he goes down. The shock in everyone’s expressions is too easy to notice and all of them stay in silence. Just as Shiki did, Rikka and Tsubasa realize that Dai’s innocent and naive personality is gone, he seems to be more mature, more serious. An adult, they think as they observe him.

“Tsubasa… Rikka…” Dai finally whispers, his voice breaking at the mention of the second name.

“Dai-chan!” the blond devil expresses and even if he wanted to go for a hug, he stops himself, Dai’s new aura stops him of acting naturally around him.

“Dai…” the pink haired demon whispers his name once again, he is still too amazed.

The little angel he carried once, the little boy who promised him to become bigger and stronger is right in front of him but looking as a completely different person. Rikka wants to touch him, to verify that the being in front of him is Dai for real. Nevertheless, he realizes that Shiki is still holding his wrist tightly.

When he looks up at Shiki, he knows the angel’s expression means only one thing ‘don’t do it.’ Rikka looks up at Dai again, he feels as his heart crashes, how he yearns to be next to Dai one more time! Nonetheless, even if they are so closed it feels as if there were a barrier between them.

“I’m back,” Dai tells them after a while, hoping that that simple phrase can be enough for the moment being and to let them know that he is still their friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now watch me disappear for two more months as I updated after a week XDD.... well truth to be told I want to post an update during September's first week... so let's see how it goes....

**Author's Note:**

> The idea as you see is rough (but I wanted to post it before I could get too scared and left it behind)… I hope to get to work on it in a better way for next chapter or at least that next chapter can be a bit better. I’m actually happy with what I got… and well yes, thank you for reading!


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